Hillenbrand Industries (NYSE: HB ) -- the Indiana-based maker of, ironically, both caskets and medical equipment -- reported its fiscal 2005 results before yesterday's opening bell, checking in with a yearly loss from continuing operations of some $96.3 million, or $1.56 per stub.
Numerous special items dinged the company's bottom line this time out, including a whopping $226.1 million after-tax charge that Hillenbrand took in anticipation of settling class-action antitrust litigation.
Exclude those items, though, and the company had a decent 2005. Overall revenues were up by nearly 6%, relative to fiscal 2004's closing numbers. The company saw a 10% increase in revenues at its Hill-Rom health-care unit and a 3% uptick for the Batesville Casket concern, notwithstanding -- and I quote -- "overall soft death rates." Cash flow from operations was plentiful on the year, too, with Hillenbrand digging up (couldn't resist the pun, sorry) more than $234 million in fiscal '05.
Investors apparently liked what they saw in the earnings report, bidding the stock up a healthy 2.7% on a day when the general market declined.
Hillenbrand has also been engaged in a buying spree of its own, repurchasing some 1.26 million shares of its own stock during the past fiscal year. Buybacks are generally a healthy sign, and I think there's reason to believe that Hillenbrand's management knows what it's up to with its repurchase program. The company currently sports a trailing-12-month price-to-earnings multiple that falls significantly below the broader market's -- not to mention such big-boy medical-equipment peers as Stryker (NYSE: SYK ) , Medtronic (NYSE: MDT ) , Zimmer Holdings (NYSE: ZMH ) , and St. Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ ) .
That said, I'd think twice before following management's lead here. Yes, Hillenbrand is in sound shape financially, and, yes, its track record of dividend payouts and profitability is impressive. But when is a solid company trading at a relatively cheap price not necessarily a good investment? How 'bout when said stock has eked out a meager annualized return of just 5.6% for the 10-year period ending in October, lagging the S&P 500 by 3.7% per year?
Don't get me wrong: Hillenbrand could well be poised for a short-term pop; indeed, its stock has risen more than 7% over the last month alone. Given the company's long-haul track record, though, buy-and-hold types should think twice before holding Hillenbrand till death do you part.
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